in 1960, sergeant john kennedy when i explored it i assumed that kennedy had beaten nixon decisively but it only moved the poll as couple of spots but it allowed kennedy to prove that he could be president, to pass the threshold. acceptability in stature. same thing with jimmy carter. carter would not have been president without debates and kennedy said he wouldn't have been. sometimes it works at wary. generally, and, reagan, one debate, it was decisive, with one debate in 1980 and the last week of the campaign, because it allowed reagan to prove he wasn't dangerous. for romney the debate is all about being able to prove if my opinion several things, but most importantly, that he is not a bad person. he has 90 minutes, the obama campaign has spent several million defining him in a way that he murders people, that he is grossly for the rich. >> what does romney have to do? >> he needs to articulate a plan as to what he will do to change america. pat is right, he has to make himself accessible to the american people. beyond that, unless people get a sense that he has a clear at stiff